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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. last — finally
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — to go on
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. track — a song
  11. wax — to grow
  12. track — a path
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — final
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — to get on
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com